Beloved
by DarkBelieverAnge
Summary: Set in Wrath of Titans, Hephaestus and Ares battle while Perseus and the others escape into Tartarus. There is unexpected help that arrives to save the condemned god from death. Rated T just in case.


_**A/N: While watching** __Wrath of the Titans **for the one hundred thousandth time, I kept getting hooked on the scene where Andromeda convinces Hephaestus to help her and the gang and he says that she reminds him of his wife, Aphrodite. Which led to my thought... where were all the goddesses, and a couple of the gods, during this time? Where they obliterated by Ares or just in hiding? **_

_**When we see Hephaestus's death scene, it is most probable that he died, but for the sake of my random thought cycle, I wondered if he hadn't died... so, here's my AU take on what could have happened. **_

_**As per usual, all material of** Wrath of the Titans__ **belongs to its owners and I'm borrowing the characters for a bit of fanfiction enjoyment.**_

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Relief clouded his thoughts as he anticipated the hammer crushing his skull. Floral perfume enraptured his senses instead. His eyes popped open. A young woman, with long blonde hair and a very curvaceous figure sitting on his chest. He automatically put his arms around her hips and felt her smile down to his toes.

"Not today, Ares." The entrancing figure did not move one muscle while the god of war unwillingly became rigid. "You will walk until you feel the need to battle your brother on whatever battlefield that the fates dictate. I'll not have you hurting my husband again."

"How can you call him yours after you've been with me for almost two hundred years?" Ares seethed. The woman's feet crossed and she patted one of her hands on the man below her and then grabbed the leg of the other. Her power shot from her hand to Ares' leg and he winced.

"My power, you dimwitted warmonger, is doubled when I'm around someone who loves me. My body was not his, but my heart always resided with his." she shifted her gaze and looked down at the beaten up proud god. "He has many faults, stubbornness primarily my least favorite, but he's mine. Now and until the river Styx dries."

A tear ran down her cheek and splashed onto his. Magic flows through him the first time since the regime change. He grinned up at her. "No one can hope like you, my dear."

She turned back to Ares. "Walk and forget all about this conflict, warmongering pest. May the fates deliver you to your destiny with haste."

Ares struggled against the magic coursing through his body. His memory dimmed until he knew that all he wanted was to face Perseus and settle his vengeance.

The gods left at the last entrance to Tartarus gazed at each other. The woman held her hand out to the man on the ground in front of her. He summoned his staff and began walking back toward his island. The woman ran behind him. "Not now, Aphrodite."

Aphrodite paused and watched him stubbornly walk back to his cave. "I sacrificed my safety to come rescue you! You owe me an explanation!"

"Woman, I owe you nothing!" he roared back. Aphrodite smiled in delight. She ran up to him and watched him huff and puff at her antics. "Cease and go back to your numerous lovers!"

"There were never numerous, Hephaestus," she whispered. He stopped walking and turned to her. She lowered her eyes. Her sigh was heard to the seas beyond Greece. "I did what I was ordered to do, beloved. If you recall, we both know what happened when one defied the king of the gods."

"Why now?" he asked cautiously. Her blonde eyebrow rose an inch and she put a finger to her stubborn chin. He smiled as she let the façade of coy maiden drop and she transformed into the woman he'd proudly married.

"The world is ending. Olympus has effectively fallen. The goddesses are huddled up into a corner, with Hermes and Dionysius, awaiting Kronos to appear and ravage them. Instead of declaring myself as an invalid, I wanted to help the only way I knew. I sensed you were in danger, and here I am." She gave an extravagant bow to complete her monologue. He chuckled. Her blue eyes grew serious. "In these last precious moments, if it is truly what they are, I yearn to spend them with you. We have been apart for too long, my love."

"Two thousand, three hundred fifty-five, twenty-six days, fourteen hours, and seven seconds," he muttered. She sashayed toward him. She was Aphrodite, the one goddess in the universe that was allowed to do a dramatic seduction. She kissed him on the lips. It was a peck, really, but the power that transferred from her to him jolted Hephaestus out of his own shoes. She grinned and her next kiss lingered on his lips. She playfully bit his upper lip and snuggled against his chest.

"There is a spell only I can cast," she stated. "As the former goddess of love, I could enhance the feeling of others toward people they did not think they loved. For the one I gave my heart to, I could give half of my old power to ensure my lover's survival."

"I'll have to deal with you for an eternity?" he asked sarcastically. He chuckled as she hit his chest.

"Until the river Styx dries, darling." He picked her up, kissed her thoroughly, and they disappeared to his island.

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Two days later, Hades arrived at Hephaestus' door. Hephaestus looked at the elder god and motioned for him to join his table. Aphrodite sat beside Hephaestus with his hand on her swollen womb.

"Did you get your ending?" Hades asked Aphrodite quietly. "Was it worth all the trouble?"

"Did you get yours?" she asked as she ate a strawberry. Hades nodded. "Anarchy usually is, then, isn't it?"

Hephaestus grinned at Hades. "Took us a long time to get it done."

"We needed certain human elements to assist us." Hades took an orange and peeled it quietly. Aphrodite heard a whispered thanks to her from a queen many miles from her. She smiled and gave thanks to the universe around her. A woman would do anything for love, especially if forced to part ways with her beloved.

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_**I hope you enjoyed it! Leave a review to tell me what you think (if you do, I'll be really grateful/happy ^_^)**_

_**Until Next Time,**_

_**DBA**_


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